Used my extensive “ladder” experience this morning to finally get to pick the first harvest off the cherry tree. My years and years of delicately balancing on very tall ladders to decorate very tall corporate Christmas trees during the wee hours prepared me well for this country life.
Raw haul was 3.78 kilos (8.3 pounds)!
Not a heavy producing year, but I’m happy with the results. Our cherry tree is enormous and I can only get to what my 7 feet (with my height and outstretched arm) can reach from the top of our 12 foot ladder (thank goodness for aluminum ladders!!!)
Here is my cleaning center all set up outside under the umbrella. I figured if I risked my life picking these things and cleaned them, then I could guilt Theo into pitting them…
First pass cleaning center: cherries in water; compost to the right; ready for pitting on the left.
Here he is making ‘the face’ and me with my glass of ice cold vin blanc.
Wait, that didn’t last long…???
Well, yes, in the end, I had to pit most of them. Now to decide what to make with them?
After pitting, a whopping 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds)!
Anyhoo, life here in France is a big wonderful bowl of ripe juicy sweet cherries! Hope everyone out there is enjoying springtime.
Beautiful, grimace and all. They look delicious, I am surprised they are ripe already. Do cherries ripen earlier in France?
I don’t tell you often enough but we really enjoy your blog and get a vicarious thrill of being in the south of France (and now Spain!) every time we see it in the inbox.
Merci et gracias- Roark
Thanks, Roark. I think the cherries are right on time for this area. I know there are lots of different varieties, but our sweet ones are usually ready the last of May into early June. A couple of years ago, we were so excited about having fresh cherries, but delayed picking for a day and a band of birds came in and picked the tree nearly clean in a day! So I don’t put it off any more!!! Looking forward to making lots of yummy caloric treats this week and will freeze some for later (found out last year that works really well). Hugs to you guys! Cindy
I have to also comment on the “grimace.” Theo’s expression is so great! Wish there was a photo of you, Cindy, pickin’ those darn cherries.
Wish I was there. Dreamin’!
-Lucy and Fifi
Nope. No photos of me and just as well. My jeans have cherry juice all over them, my hands and fingernails are stained, and just picked some tree bits and pieces out of my hair!! At least there was cloud cover today, so not as hot as most years.
I loved this sourpuss photo of him too. You guys kindly calling it a grimace. My arthritic hands have been giving me hell and pitting cherries is about the worst thing I can do. I showed him how. He buggered along. I showed him again. And after maybe a cup of cherries, he threw in the towel. But not after trying to figure out a lazy way to pitting them. And so I’ll be on painkillers to get through the night and probably need to polish off the rest of that bottle of white!
Wish you were here as well. Soon…